Info on offsite hotels

[Melcatfish]

Hi

Just wondering if anyone can give me any info on some of the cheaper offsite hotels. DH and I are supposed to be planning a big trip to Florida for 2 or 3 years time giving the family enough time to save up - trouble is we have been bitten by the bug and are thinking of going on an earlier trip (to check it all out in the name of good planning of course!!)

We will certainly be going for cheap and cheerful accommodation and wondered if anyone could give advice on the holiday inn, clarion, ramada type hotels. Really i guess all we are interested in is a clean room with shower reasonably close to the action. Oh and I guess parking is a consideration.

Any advice gratefully received. We are desperately hoping to find a way of going either this summer or next.

ps we are both teachers so school holidays are a must unfortunately.

Cheers
Mel
xx

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Well my suggestion would be Quality Inn Plaza on International Drive. It's located on International Drive which has a lot of restaurants and shopping areas also based there.

The rooms here are spacious and clean. The complex has 3 pools. a restaurant and a lite-bite deli that offers snacks. There is a Pizza Hut next door and a Sizzler across the way, which serves really inexpensive, big buffet breakfasts to start your day.

This hotel has always struck me as a "good value place" and in a good spot on IDrive.

Whether you are driving or using the shuttles provided by the hotel then again I would say it was in a good location to get to and from the parks.

 

[Hilary]

We stayed in the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites in Kissimmee a few years ago and gave it a thumbs up, althought we were there for only three nights and didn't plan on spending much time in the room anyway.

We had a Kidsuite with bunk beds for the kids, and the room had a microwave and coffee maker (don't think there was a fridge, but I may be wrong). The hotel is right nect door to Kissimmee Old Town and very close to loads of eating and shopping areas. There was a decent pool, a shop, snack bar and sit down restaurant and it was easy to find because you just look out for the Old Town 'Big Wheel' and it's right there!

 

[neo's white rabbit]

Have a look at Expedia, they seem to be coming up with some not bad deals at the moment.

Two weeks leaving 4th August is coming up (per adult) as £852 at the Best Western Florida Mall or £916 Quality Inn International drive and that incudes a car, flights and all taxes. Various other options too. So around £1,700 for August...not sure if that works for you or not. August always being overpriced!

 

[allie5]

If you are having a car then your choice of "cheap and cheerful" places is immense!! The Quality Inn as previously suggested makes a good base on I-drive and the rooms are clean and an OK size. Other ones on I-Drive are Best Western Plaza, Hampton Inn (this is a great budget place....mini kitchen facilities, free local calls, free breakfast, free shuttle buses), Holiday Inn express. In Kissimmee you would have to be a little more picky, as there are some "dives"....stick with the big chains (HoJo, Best Western, Holiday Inn etc), you should be then at least guaranteed somewhere clean.

To really cut costs, you could rent a villa and share with some friends?? These places are huge and you get your own pool. You can rent a good one for around £400 per week, which, if shared with some family or friends make it a good option.

Call round some of the Florida specialists for a package (try Travel City) or have a look on Teletext.

You should get a good deal for aorund £1500 including car and insurance.

Have fun!
Allie.

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Hiya,

We have stayed in Quality Inn International,thought it was a very good basic hotel,had everything you need inside the rooms from t.v,fridge,hairdryer,etc,good clean pools,clean towels and bedding everyday etc.

We are also going to Quality inn plaza this time in july booked through virgin as like you we was trying to go next year but decided to go this year instead lol, so we got £2,249 for 2adults and a child leaving on the 9th july,with car hire and full insurance,and staying at the plaza.
They still have flights available for the 8th so have a gander with virgin they have a 10% online booking discount.

I recommend quality inn i think its a cheap,cheerful,basic,clean hotel.
Not sure on the plaza havent been yet but i can let you know when we get back

Theres a few links here if you want to try them out:

www.virginholidays.co.uk
www.bonvoyage.com
www.travelcitydirect.co.uk
www.directholidays.co.uk
www.opodo.com

I went through these when searching for our hols
Good luck and hope you get booked soon.

Beth & Co

 

[WDWfan uk]

There is a good thread on this, started last year and still gonig strong which will give you some help with off-site hotels here

although some expensive hotels are listed there are some value hotels mentioned too.

Also, if you check through the brochures and see one that might appeal, post the name here - it may be that someone has stayed there and can advise you.

I believe the Holiday Inn Express hotels are inexpensive, basic and clean but if anyone has used them recently, could they verify that?

 

[BevS97]

we stayed at the Clarion Universal in 2001 and were very happy with it - it often has very cheap deals on the front page of The Dis. It's very handy for wet n wild, universal and seaworld - we didn't do Disney from there (we did a week offsite and a week on), so I'm not sure how far the trip would be, but we had no complaints.

However - another option, which I think may be cheaper, is to look at hiring an apartment - we are getting a 2 bed apartment at the Windsor Palms next December for £250/week - you can't really beat that unless you go to a very basic hotel, and we will have all the benefits of a kitchen and laundry too. The hotel is shared, but that's the same as in a hotel.
we have booked ours through http://www.statesidetravel.com/ who were recommended by someone on these boards.

Bev

 

[neo's white rabbit]

I'd agree with BethS that looking at a condo rental could be a good option - more space and facilities for much the same cost. You might also find some condo's here

www.villas2000.com

I'd also look at www.expedia.co.uk They have some good deals for July and August if you go with flight + car or flight+car+hotel.

At the moment I've been checking the Gulf Coast with them and BA flights plus a car is coming in £300 less that the flights on their own! Go figure as our American friends would say.

 

[disneyuk]

Hi !

We stayed in the Holiday Inn Express on i-Drive last year.
We had booked an 'allocated on arrival' deal (never again !) and they put us in the Masters Inn.



It was not nice - but that's a different story ! After complaining to our TA rep we got moved to the HI express. What a difference.

Helpful staff, courtesy coaches, free breakfast, free tea and coffee in reception, clean and tidy. Couldn't ask for more on our cheap budget.

It's in a good location for WnW, US and the shops and restaurants on I-drive.

 

[Ralphly]

Because of the time span, I would suggest that you once every couple of months check with Travel City Direct prices to keep you up to date as well as Virgin Travelstore prices for tickets. these prices are very competative and should put you in good stead, as its to easy to be boged down with hundereds of offers. At the time you decide to book, write down your preferred hotels, motels, Villas etc and then do the insurance routeen go to all travel agents and internet sites and quote your current best price.

Buy the Brits Guide and keep in touch with this site.

Most of all make the booking, planning, and buying of tickets part of the whole experenance and enjoy yourself.

R

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Another tip if you are thinking of going twice is to buy annual passes for the parks and take two holidays within the same 12 month period. We're also restricted to school holidays so what we normally do is to book the first holiday for the last two weeks of August, then book the second holiday in the first two weeks of August in the following year. We buy annual passes for Disney and Universal which cover both holidays, giving us complete flexibility to visit any of the parks at any time without worrying about using up a whole day on a multiday ticket. Although it makes the first holiday a little bit more expensive we think it gives great value for money when you consider the cost across both visits. As an added bonus annual passes also give lots of dicounts around the park, eg free car parking, on-site hotel discounts, food and merchandise discounts, etc.

Regards

Rob

 

[BarryCF]

I agree about buying the AP's. If you can go twice within 1 year the 2nd trip will be MUCH cheaper. Like rob@rar.org.uk said, an AP may give you a good enough discount to stay onsite. The All-Star resorts go for as little as $49 a night and I suspect Pop Century will go for the same price as the AS. Keep in mind that $50 a night will get you a bigger hotel offsite. The AS rooms are small, but they were plenty big for 2 when I stayed there. Happy planning.

Cheers

 

[squitty]

Hi

You could always try to bid for your accomodation on www.priceline.co.uk or www.priceline.com
I got the Wyndham I-Drive for $30 per night. There are even cheaper options.
If your interested then read this site for more very helpful information Bidding for travel

 

[vernon]

A service I've used a couple of times recently to good effect is http://www.hotwire.com As with priceline you don't know the actual hotel you're getting until you've "signed on the dotted line" so it is a little bit of a gamble. The advantage, IMHO, over priceline is you know the price that's being offered as opposed to you putting in a "blind bid". I'm not sure I'd book a whole vacation using this service as you are taking a leap of faith , but I've been happy with the hotels I've received so far and VERY happy with the prices. There is a lot of aggressive price cutting going on at the moment and this and priceline do seem to be the best way of taking advantage of those savings, but it does rather depend on your willingness to be flexible in your approach.